


Safeguard

by Niko_Niko_Neek



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: F/M, game devs just hear me out, slight angst, zelda being a badass
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-18
Updated: 2019-11-18
Packaged: 2021-02-12 19:28:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21481612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Niko_Niko_Neek/pseuds/Niko_Niko_Neek
Summary: nounA measure taken to protect someone or something.Inspired by the BOTW 2 teaser.
Relationships: Link/Zelda (Legend of Zelda)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 54





	Safeguard

He’s still breathing, but the sound is so faint that it’s almost inaudible. Link had toppled over without protest, like a cut marionette, and now lays still and quiet in the darkness of the cavern. The torch they had brought in had been dropped in the scuffle, and she can only see what is illuminated by the steady, bluish-green glow which is now steadily creeping its way up Link’s right arm.

Zelda was known for quickness of thought. It was her divining characteristic. It separates her from the mundane as much as her Hylia-given abilities did, if not more, in the same way that Link’s utter steadfastness set him apart.

Now, her mind is racing. Her first thought, terrible and scented copper with fear, is that Link is already dead. This is disproven by the soft noise of his breath, and she thanks whatever deity is responsible for it.

Her mind then darts to the origin of this glowing blight which has attached itself to her champion’s arm. It could be any number of things. The glow makes her think of the ancient Sheika, which she had so greedily studied in her youth, nut it is unlike anything she’s come across, even the guardian sentinels.

His hand, in a bizarre and unsettling shift, begins to change. The fingers elongate, becoming curved and clawed, inhuman. The glow creeps upward until it has engulfed the whole of his arm up to the shoulder.

Zelda swallows. Her first fear is that the glow will continue until he is gone, eaten alive or worse, changed into something she could no longer save him from. At one time, centuries past, Zelda may have left him here. She may have recoiled and fled, terrified to be near for fear of catching the blight herself. Now, she crouches next to him, propping him up on one bent knee, her arm crooked tightly around his shoulders.

“Link?” she asks, hating that her voice is already choked with tears. 

There is no response, but his brow furrows in a look of concentration, as though it is taking all of his ability just to hear her.

The scene is horrifically familiar. She remembers the rain from that day, the panic that had seized her. She remembers being too late. Too weak.

But she is no longer that scared young girl in the rain. She is the youngest queen in Hyrule’s history, and she will not fail again.

Jaw setting, Zelda eases the Master Sword from Link’s hand. There is a wave of relief to find his left hand unchanged, still warm and human. She squeezes his hand for a moment before lifting she sword.

She had always wondered, upon first seeing Link train, of the sacred blade was awfully heavy. To her surprise, it is as light as a feather. The very hilt seems to him with some repressed and ancient energy, which travels up her arm in much the same way the blight has travelled up Link’s. But this sensation is invigorating. She feels her senses sharpen, her muscles strengthen. Link is always meant to wield the sword, but sensing crisis, the sword has chosen her.

Zelda lifts the blade, the tip held unwavering towards the mass of black and red. The Master Sword flows a faint blue. Now, just as she had centuries ago, she recognizes the presence of her oldest foe, the foul pulse of blasphemed magic. Most of all, however, she recognizes the stench. Ash and tar, creeping inward to stain her lungs, her skin and hair, her heart. She had breathed in that scent every day for one hundred years, and even after her body fails and she lies lifeless, she will never forget it.

Her voice shakes, not with fear, but in fury.

“I will _kill_you if you touch him.”

The mass emits a garbled noise, almost mechanical. It’s as if it is laughing at her.

In an instant, the young queen’s eyes flash a brilliant green, and they appear impossibly old.

“I was here the first time you crawled from your miserable, stinking grave, and I will be here every time to send you back. I have seen this place fall and be rebuilt again. These are _my_lands. These are _my_ people. This is _my_kingdom and you are trespassing!”

The blade glows brighter as she lifts it. Link groans and, though her eyes never leave the shadow, she reflexively holds him closer. The sigil of wisdom burns bright gold on the back of her glove.

“And if you ever touch my knight again, I’ll _fucking kill you!”_

She swings the sword down in a furious arc, leaving a trail of blue and gold in its wake. There is a strangled hiss as Ganon’s remnants dissipate like so much smoke. The light dies away from the sword and the cave, once again, is still.

There is a faint flatter of metal as she drops the sword, her anger replaced by fear as her attention fixated on the young man in her arms. Link still hasn’t moved, and his breathing is labored. His arm still pulses with light. 

With shaking fingers, she brushes his unkempt bangs back. Though she has shielded him, the crushing feeling of dispair is almost palpable in her chest like armor too heavy. Her hand finds his, which still remains untouched by the blight, and guides it to her cheek. It remains limp. She dares not use the word lifeless.

“Open your eyes.” 

It’s a question more than a demand, one she knows won’t be met like it had been a century ago when he, at last, had healed from the extensive wounds to his body, wounds she couldn’t prevent. Now, again, his arm is almost gone.

Because she couldn’t protect him.

Tears finally spill as, once again, Zelda repeats herself.

“Wake up, Link.”

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to comment if you enjoyed!


End file.
